toh

Kathy Bickerton-Smith and Jeffrey Lepine help ward off dementia every time they take the stairs.

Dr. Antoine Hakim runs from his office to the General Campus cafeteria every day for coffee – not because he’s desperate for a caffeine fix, but to ward off dementia. He also takes the stairs six floors to his clinic for the same reason.

“As we age, our brains shrink,” explained Dr. Hakim, The Ottawa Hospital’s senior neurologist. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that as we exercise, that shrinkage slows down.” The biggest cause of brain shrinkage is high blood pressure. And what exercise does – particularly intermittent aerobic exercise – is lower your blood pressure.

Any activity will do, as long as you get out of breath. “When you exercise, something in your body is moving and it requires blood flow. The blood vessels have to relax to allow that blood flow to get there and that relaxation drops the pressure.” How do you know when to stop? “When you get out of breath. That’s the signal to your body: ‘Hey relax, blood vessels, will you please? I need blood flow’.”

Dr. Hakim is considering writing a book with the working title Keeping your Marbles, in which he would discuss in lay terms how people can protect their brains.

“People want quality of life and nothing terrifies them more than not having their mind,” he said. “They don’t care if they’ve got knee problems or heart problems, just don’t take away my ability to think and make decisions and appreciate my environment.”

As we live longer, dementia is becoming the biggest threat to quality of life. “Whenever I’ve given a talk about this stuff, it’s standing room only. There’s increased awareness that it’s not just about getting old, it’s about living well,” he said. “People are grateful that somebody’s taking the time to talk about keeping your marbles.”

So what can we do?

1. Integrate physical activity into your day, rather than setting aside time at lunch or after work. Take the stairs, run for 10 minutes, park far away from the entrance, dig in your garden. “It takes superhuman determination to say ‘I’m going to take my lunch hour and go sweat,’ because people don’t really have time.” Although there’s no consensus on exactly how much exercise is enough, “it’s very clear that three times 10 minutes is potentially even better than one 30-minute session.”
2. Take and record your blood pressure once a week at home when you’re calm. Then show your family doctor. If high blood pressure runs in your family, maximize all the prevention steps you can. “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”
3. Increase physical activity gradually. “Don’t get off the couch and climb a mountain.”

You might also like…